Problems for Barça? Return to the 1:1 rule may take until August

Published New:11/07/2025 - 18:00h

Updated New:11/07/2025 - 18:00h

The Barça board anticipates a delay in the return to the 1:1 rule, which is fundamental for making signings normally in the summer market. What are the obstacles to achieving this goal?

FC Barcelona was hoping to start June back under the 1:1 rule, a LaLiga regulation that allows clubs to operate normally in the market, using every euro earned through the departure of players (sale or loan) from their squad on new signings.

However, everything indicates that the club will only meet this requirement, which is essential to move freely in the market, by the beginning of August. The reason for this is mainly because the new Azulgrana auditor, Crowe Spain, will finalize the auditable report for the 24/25 financial year in July.

Crowe paused the entry of 100 million euros derived from the exploitation rights of 475 VIP seats at Spotify Camp Nou until the commercialized area was built and enabled in the Estadi.

When will Barça receive the 'Ok' from LaLiga to return to 1:1?

Of the 100 'kilos', paid by Fortia Advisor Limited (30 M€) and New Era Visionary Group (70 M€), the club has already received 58 M€ into its coffers. New Era will pay its second installment in September of this year and the second and final one in early 2026, a payment scheme that was already approved by LaLiga in January.

For now, the Culés are operating under the 1:2 rule, which means they can only spend around 60% of what enters their coffers to incorporate reinforcements or update renewed contracts. This is why Joan García (signed in June) and Wojciech Szczesny (renewed this week) still cannot be registered for the 25/26 season.

After the pandemic, the club fell into the 1:4 rule, meaning the Culés had to free up a space in their salary mass four times greater than the amortization cost of each signing in order to register them.

The Azulgrana's financial situation, however, is now much less complex, and in fact, the club had the 1:1 rule back in January, until Crowe reversed the money received for the VIP seats at the Estadi in March.

In addition to Joan García, the club will sign Roony Bardghji and a left winger, waiting to define the possible incorporation of another full-back. However, the club would only have the green light from the employers to register its reinforcements just before the start of the new season, on August 16 against Mallorca.

The 'exit operation' will also be key for the return to the 1:1 rule

Beyond LaLiga's 'Ok' to all the figures in the report issued by Crowe Spain, Barcelona can also accelerate its return to the 1:1 rule through one or several important sales. The club has already terminated the contract of Clément Lenglet, in addition to closing the loan of Ansu Fati to Monaco.

In addition, it will soon cash in with the sale of Pablo Torre to Mallorca, and then it will be the turn of players like Pau Víctor and Andreas Christensen, marked as fixed discards for the 25/26 season. Another who may join this list is Ter Stegen, as the German has run out of place in the squad after the signing of Joan García and the renewal of Szczesny.

The departure of the German, in fact, may be key, since in the event of a transfer it will allow the club to receive about 10 million clean, along with the saving of his salary (about 7 'kilos' net). Hansi Flick has already made it clear what his role will be from the summer and the goalkeeper must evaluate offers and alternatives to finalize his farewell to the Azulgrana team.

In any case, whether through its financial audit or through the 'exit operation', Barça must resolve the 1:1 mess as soon as possible to avoid a scenario similar to that of the previous summer, when Dani Olmo only received his license to play in the third matchday of the League. The same happened with Jules Koundé in 2022.